Shades of Red
by kellani celina
Summary: Red Mimilith grows up unaware of the Hath twins despite their closeness in age. Her story of growing up in Aramanth and elsewhere as the Manth people journey to the homeland.
1. Chapter 1

Miko Mimilith brushed his free hand against the grey blanket that would soon wrap his child. He sighed. The grey homespun was so rough for a baby. Lea promised to stay with him forever, but he couldn't help feeling like a failure. He wished nothing more than that his child would get to grow up in a lifestyle different than the one they were currently living. As if! Miko was terrible at the High Examination, and thus, he and his wife were always relegated to the grey district with little hope for improvement. Maybe when the baby grew a little older, his or her points would boost the family rating a bit.

Lea shouted as she was wracked by a hard contraction. She squeezed one of his hands to express the pain. Milo was incredibly excited for the baby to come; he was anxious yet ready to be a father. He also wanted Lea to stop squeezing his hand- his job wasn't demanding- but he needed dexterity.

"It'll be along soon," He comforted his wife uselessly. "We'll get to meet her."

Lea shot him a glance, and then yelled again with yet another contraction.

"I meant it." He hastily corrected himself. Milo and Lea had agreed early in her pregnancy that they didn't care whether the child was a boy or a girl. He understood why- Lea's parents had desperately wanted a boy and had therefore resented her. Secretly he wanted a girl, but he wouldn't dare tell his wife that. Despite his curiosity, he again lapsed into thoughts of fashion and fabrics. He so badly wanted to move into the maroon district, to have a little spare money, to have a little free time, to have a little balcony where Lea could rock their children.

After about a half an hour of pushing, the doctor interrupted Miko's thoughts. "A girl," he said wearily. And the screaming baby was in Lea's arms.

Miko stared at the child in shock. The Manth genes for having dark hair and eyes were not expressed. True- all babies were red at birth, but this child also had scarlet hair. Miko wasn't a creative man. "How about Red?" He asked his wife.

The exhausted Lea looks at their daughter. She laughed, "it certainly suits her better than Mita." They had planned to name a daughter after Miko's mother.

After a bit of squalling, Red Mimilith quieted. Miko regretfully covered her in the grey fabric, suddenly happy that they didn't live in maroon- his daughter's hair would clash terribly.


	2. Chapter 2

Red Mimilith was knocked out of line and fell onto the stones of the city center. She had been so transfixed by the lecture that she hadn't noticed the figure barreling towards her. As she stood up and adjusted her maroon dress, she caught the orange blur's shouted apology. Stepping back with her classmates, she didn't allow herself the luxury of fuming; rather she immediately started paying attention to her teacher again.

"Are you hurt?" inquired the teacher kindly. Red was a favorite student, never any trouble, always at the top of the class.

"Certainly." Red replied and brushed some imaginary dust from her skirt. "Not even a scratch. I'm very lucky." She smiled brightly and the teacher continued lecturing on the history of Aramanth.

Red put the incident from her mind as she stood with her classmates. Others fidgeted and looked around the square-perhaps for the running girl. But Red would not let anything break her concentration. Even at age nine, she was aware that her ratings were the ones that kept the family in maroon. Not her mother's, not her brothers', certainly not her father's, everyone knew Miko Mimilith was an abysmal test taker. No, it was Red who aced every test, who was embodiment of the Manth motto.

She recited it silently to herself, "I vow to strive harder, to reach higher, and in every way to seek to make tomorrow better than today. For love of my Emperor and for the glory of Aramanth." And as she neared the ending of it, the decrepit windsinger in the center of the plaza began making noises.

"Won't strive harder!" Red turned at the blasphemy, even the littlest child knew to respect the fundamentals of society.

"Won't reach higher!" Against the wooden structure, she could see the orange child leaning into one of the leather scoops projecting the voice of rebellion.

"Won't make tomorrow better than today!" That one especially chilled Red. Making tomorrow better was her main life goal.

"There is no glory in Aramanth!" She watched as others approached the structure. Peacekeepers rushed in from all angles, and another orange figure began to climb.

Red's teacher surveyed her class and scolded "what a wicked girl." But she could not contain her classes laughter as the figure shouted the old oaths.

"Pooa pooa pocksicker to the Emperor! Where is he anyway, there isn't any Emporer!" and with that, Red's class followed their teacher out of the center of town, with echoing words chasing them back to the school in the maroon district.


	3. Chapter 3

Red debated whether to get out the spoon. Lolo and Mo were arguing over some toy rather than doing their homework. Mother had left her in charge, but no matter how loudly she yelled, even though Red shouted herself scarlet, her brothers ignored her.

The door swung open and slammed firmly. Over the ruckus, they hadn't heard Lea Mimilith return. The bang was for emphasis, and Red was certainly surprised. "Lolo, Mo! Enough!" She said briskly, and then turned on Red. "Shouldn't you have had dinner started?"

Red gestured futilely, half heartedly, towards the bag of meal on the counter, to the pot of water boiling over onto the floor. Her mother merely looked at her in the way saying 'I expected more from you,' and turned to finish dinner herself. In the apartment, no one stirred.

As they sat for dinner, Red tried to ease the tension. "How's Dad?" But her mother again just stared at her, calming shutting down the question, although her legs shook against the table. Instead of answering her daughter, Lea turned to her sons, asking about their day and starting another squabble.

Miko Mimilith had been gone for over a week now, on the study course for the High Examination. Red knew that although her father had come out okay before, or at least not failed them too badly, that this was an important year. She pretended not to notice the family rating, being too proud to admit her father's inadequacies in public, and too ashamed to worry in private. She knew her parents believed her to be as oblivious as Lolo and Mo; that they wanted to believe their daughter maintained her innocence. She was a child, yes. But children were not blind, especially not in Aramanth.

After dinner, Red helped her mother was up. "How's Dad?" she asked again. And again her mother said nothing, turning away to break Lolo and Mo apart with a firm warning. The next child to cause a problem was getting a paddling.

"Red," Lea sighed, hoping to drop the matter.

"No, Ma. I knew that you visited him today." Red set her mouth stubbornly. "Did you at least tell him I miss him? And tell him that I aced my math exam?"

"He's fine. Optimistic even, convinced that he'll do well this year."

Red wanted to chide her mother. It had been years since Miko had improved on the Examination, his anxiety did not allow it. She hated that her father lacked ambition, that his only traits were love and hope. And somewhere, Red believed, a deep passion that he hadn't expressed. Some hidden potential.

Lea continued; trying to fill the silence she'd created. "Obviously I only spoke to him a little, but he mentioned that there was raised morale this year. That another candidate, a Hanno Hath, was helping the other men study. But mostly was helping with the anxiety."

Red had heard whispers about the Hath family, wild rumors. She had heard that the wild girl was taken by the Chief Examiner and sold, that two of the children had ran away, that the family had lost enough credit that they were all made to work in the salt mines. A particularly crazy story was that the girl had kicked the Examiner, was rescued by the Emperor, and was taken for a princess. Everything went against her quiet desire for success, and she resented the Hath family greatly.

"Ach," continued Lea. "If your father passes this year, I would follow Hanno Hath anywhere."

Red was dismayed. "You'd better hope that he fails then," she said bitterly. She couldn't comprehend that her mother would take up with the rebels.

Lea gasped. "Why ever would you say such a thing? Everything rests on Miko passing. Everything."

"I know," how could Lea believe that Red hadn't seen her staring at the apartment, memorizing every detail. Or that Red hadn't seen the lines on her father's face deepen. "But isn't it obvious Ma? There's something wrong with that family. I've heard about them, from everyone, and I'd rather live in the Grey District than be indebted to a bunch of pocksicking loonies!"

Stunned by her own language, Red was unable to dodge the soapy spoon that her mother smacker her across the bottom with. "Go to the bedroom." Lea ordered quietly, dangerously. And Red obeyed, walking past her goggling brothers who had NEVER seen her punished. As she entered the family's shared bedroom, she knelt on the curtained off mattress and curled her head to her knees. The shame of everything crashed over her, and she wept bitterly.


	4. Chapter 4

Aramanth's amphitheater was the largest building in the city. The great tiers of seats sloped inward to the central terraces and culminated in a low platform; empty for now. Soon the family heads would file in. There was a cluster of desks pulled to the side; those were the desks that red was watching. Those were the desks where the remedial course candidates would be seated, where her father would be.

The day of the High Examination was almost like a holiday. Almost. The children were all let out of school to support their fathers, the women left their homes to support their spouses. Everyone had donned their finest. Sure, everyone was wearing regulation outfits and seated by district; but faces were scrubbed, hair was done, and anyone with "achievement jewelry" had it pinned to their chests. The very air crackled silently with anticipation it seemed, but Red saw through the façade. She only felt dread. It may have been because her family's fate for the next year rode exclusively on this test.

Pristine white robes flashed against the sun as Malso Inch, the Chief Examiner, strode up to his podium. Erect and proud, he was a symbol for achievement and self advancement. Red's heart rose in her chest; how she admired him. Feared him, yes, but loved him too, a man she'd never met. He gave a short welcoming speech, but uncharacteristically, Red wasn't listening to him. The candidates were filing in and she hadn't seen her father for weeks, she had only had eyes for him. Head bowed, Miko Mimilith cut a less impressive figure. He scurried to his seat and clutched his maroon robes around him, even from her seat high in the bleachers; she could see new lines carved into his face. Around him were the other men from the course. To his right there was a shy looking, plain man. He looked harmless, but based on the glares from the Chief Examiner; Red assumed that he was the fabled Hanno Hath. A gentle face for a traitor. She mimicked the Chief Examiner's scowl.

With a sweeping gesture Malso stood and led the crowd in the oath. Red stretched, wishing to appear older and more proper. Voice mingling with thousands of others, she recited "for the love of the Emperor and for the Glory of Aramanth." Then, with another sweeping gesture, everyone sat and waiting. With a nod of his head, he signaled a flurry of activity, signaling the start of the High Examination. Examinees throughout the arena reached for their quills and scribbled away. Somewhere, higher in the bleachers, someone muttered "O unhappy people," and received a few quiet laughs in response. But all too soon the heavy silence prevailed, dampening even the fervor of the writers.

Red quickly grew bored of the proceedings, but instead of wriggling like other children in the arena, she moved around in her brain. She imagined the day when she could take her first High Examination. She would show everyone, especially the Chief Examiner, exactly how impressive a girl could be. Her perfect score would be vaulted above the others, proving her worth. It would be a glorious day. Adding detail to the image, she pictured the Chief Examiner handing her her own set of white robes. They would gleam against her skin, and set off her hair better than maroon ever could. Beautiful finally, her rank would speak for her. She would be the new symbol of Aramanth. A shushing from her mother brought her back to reality, but it wasn't directed at her. Her brothers had started a wrestling match on the bench beside her.

It would be revolutionary for a woman to be tested she thought as she returned to her fantasy. Red was anything but. She wasn't like that prophetess that everyone was talking about. She didn't want to be notorious like the Hath family. Red hadn't been in the crowd that Ira addressed from the Wind Singer, but her best friend had. Pia Greeth, an emissary from Scarlet who attended the Maroon school because of her father, had shared all the details. Even though she scorned the prophetess, she had whispered that the whole experience had been terribly exciting. Red was more than a little jealous.

Scanning the audience for her best friend, she looked across the arena towards the Scarlet District's seating. She couldn't make out faces particularly, but she saw the flash of a wave. Pia could see her, her hair stood out against the darkness of everyone else's. She saw another pale flash and knew that Mrs. Greeth had knocked Pia's hand from the air in reprimand. A pinched and bitter woman, Red could almost hear her nasal drone, like the whining of an insect. Her imagination was convincing, but would Mrs. Greeth really be saying "kill, kill, kill!"?

Around the arena other heads were swiveling, looking for the source of the commotion. Quills clattered onto desktops as the candidates stopped writing. Lea reached for Red, embraced Lolo and Mo, and around them other mothers did the same. The kill song was joyous and in that, terrifying. Nobody moved, and then a leggy young man, a candidate, bounded up the stone steps toward the door. He poked his head out and shouted to the crowd "there's a ship!"

"A ship," the crowd muttered. "A ship?" Aramanth was surrounded by desert, why would there be a ship?

"A sand ship!" The man clarified. "With wheels! And children are jumping out! They're being chased by a white and gold army!"

"Get down" commanded the Chief Examiner, and the young man complied. His dark hair flopped as he loped, ran was the wrong word, back into the arena. He stopped before the arena floor though; a few rows ahead of the Mimilith family he cut in and sat by a young pregnant woman and a baby. Red briefly wondered who he was- he was wearing maroon- why didn't she know them. She looked at the family and wished she could be as beautiful as the woman who was chastely kissing her young husband. Public affection and public bravery? They would certainly be punished. "Now," the Chief Examiner was saying, "does anyone know what this army is? Where they came from? How we can make them go away?"

The army answered his question with a change of their song "Zars, Zars, Zars. Oh how we love to kill!"

A pin drop could have caused echoes in the arena, as the Manth people were all pretending not to exist. The echoing shouts and songs of the Zars encompassed everything simultaneously boiling blood and chilling bone. No one saw what happened outside, but all imagined a white clad youthful army pouring in and killing them all. It would be particularly unsettling to die to the blade of a happy solider-Red thought. Then there was silence, a gust of wind, and a haunting melody entered the arena.

The Manth were temporarily stunned, and then tentative smiles crept over their faces. At once everyone moved. Colors were mingled as old friends were sought out and embraced, papers were ripped, and tears were shed. A few rows ahead the young man passionately kissed his wife. Re was nearly crushed as a flood of bodies ran down the stairs to the exit. Her mother caught her arm and puller her with the crowd as they poured to the plaza.

There, on the Wind Singer crouched two boys in white and a mangled orange girl. Their hair was braided with gold and rainbows and they were beaming wearily. Red could only stare as they scanned the crowd, could only watch in astonishment as the Chief Examiner knelt at the most ungainly boy's feet. She felt the ferocity in the girl's black eyes as they met her's briefly before moving on behind Red. With a yelp, Kestrel jumped from the Wind Singer's platform and plowed through the crowd. Red was knocked out of the way, onto the pavement. But as she pushed herself up, she couldn't stop smiling. Who would stop smiling? The Wind Singer was singing.


	5. Chapter 5

The sky outside Red's window had a decidedly rosy glow. Red shook her head in frustration; she couldn't have been awake that long, dawn couldn't be coming already. If she was viewing the night through the rose colored lenses of love, tomorrow she'd be seeing red through bloodshot eyes. Honestly she was surprised that her vision wasn't tainted green with envy.

The Greeth-Amos betrothal had been beautiful; it needed to be. The first union of the marriage season, and that of a powerful magistrate's daughter deserved an especially extravagant ceremony. Red had been particularly awestruck. Although, at barely fourteen, she wouldn't be eligible till next season, she knew that young people courted beforehand. Indeed, Tanner Amos had been with Pia since she was thirteen, and although they were secretive at first, Red had heard all the whispered details. Pia had been the image of a new bride; all trembling hands and blushing cheeks. Her eyes glittered with unshed tears of excitement as she began her vows. Overall, she had been bewitching. Certainly her young husband thought so; Tanner had never taken his eyes off her. Neither had Red. Red didn't have a boy of her own; so her glances were covetous as well as admiring.

Pia had looked so happy, and Red wanted it. When they were younger, they used to say that they'd be best friends forever. That none would come between them- just like the Manth vows said. Then Pia met Tanner. And although Pia swore that they would still be friends, Red suddenly felt so much younger, inexperienced, worthless. And she hated it. For awhile Pia had suggested that Red meet her older brother, Farlo, but Red knew when there was a lost cause. To make it worse, Farlo was obviously goggle eyed over Kestrel Hath. And so Red suffered alone. Recently though, Pia had told Red to keep her eye on Niko Lith. Occasionally she felt him staring, but she wished that the wheelwright's apprentice would actually talk to her.

Niko had been at the meeting, boasting overloud about revolutionary ideas. All the young people had been with the exception of the young couple. They'd been chaperoned to a small Maroon apartment by the adults. Interestingly the Hath boy had also been absent although his sister had attended. Kestrel had quietly watched the proceedings with Mumpo, scanning the crowd with her wild black eyes as if she'd been listening for something. For a moment Red had wanted to approach Kestrel, she'd wanted to say something although she didn't know what. She felt like that often, but instead of opening her mouth, she turned to listen to Niko.

And now she was laying in her bed, in the middle of the night, overthinking everything. Niko had smiled at her, she was certain of it. And although all the youth affected the same ragged androgynous hair cut and wore similar black robes, Red thought he looked particularly handsome in them. She stared hopelessly at the lightening sky, predicting that she wouldn't sleep after all. Content in her daydreams, she watched the skyline and waited for the bells to call the rest of the city into conscious.

The sun wasn't high enough when they started. And they weren't tolling the normal morning call-they were klaxons of alarm. Red leapt from her bed and was dressed before anyone could come and wake her. She was fastening her salt necklace-a gift from the Chief Examiner when she finished primary school at the top of the class- when her mother's voice entered the room. After tucking it under the neck of her tunic, she bolted into the main room where she nearly collided with her brothers. They were still clad in their nightwear and were being chivvied by a very frustrated Lea.

"Outside, quickly now!"Her father called. He gripped her unprotesting hand and they ran onto the street. A crowd was milling in confusion, but Red's father pulled her forward. Somehow in the chaos they lost sight of her mother and the boys, Miko wouldn't look back. A scream caused Red too though, and she was just in time to watch a mounted man cut down a woman. More cavalry were pouring onto the streets, herding people like sheep. Red knew she would never forget the agonized shouts as loved ones were lost or killed, and underlying that was the crackling of fires. The Grey District was alight. Now uninhabited, the great warehouses were still not far from their house in upper Orange.

Red clung to her father as they were forced out of the city, past the burning Wind Singer, and onto the beach. She shot a look back at the symbol of her people, it was steaming rather than smoking, and there were buckets on the ground signaling there'd been an effort to save it. She squinted against the sunrise as it came up over the ocean, and tried to see her surroundings. All of the survivors were clustered around her, most were weeping, although a few were overcome with shock. Pia was there as was her husband, and they clung to each other like there wasn't anyone else in the world. Her father saw the rest of the family several yards away, and signaled them over quietly.

With the other Manth people, Red watched while wagons rolled between them and the ocean. A handsome young man rode before them. He pointed to Malso Inch, the former Chief Examiner, and the man was brought to the front and caged. "My orders will be obeyed!" Commanded the rider, "at the first sign of disobedience, this man will die!" Red was shocked by the cruelty, but was silenced with the rest of the crowd. She could only watch in horror as Mumpo walked up to the cages and demanded his father was released.

A brazier was lit and brought to the cages. Oil was poured, and Malso Inch, like the buildings of his beloved city, was set afire. He never screamed but Red did. She screamed silently and fingered the necklace around her throat. The immortal man that she respected so much… gone, consumed by fire. "You will be silent," the invader said. "For each who speaks, another will be taken and will die in this way."

No one could disobey, but Red's father whispered to her urgently. "Red, cover your hair." He had seen that the uniqueness of Malso's robes had drawn attention. He knew his daughter's flaming hair could do the same.

"People of Aramanth." The leader was saying. "Your city is destroyed, your freedom is at an end. You are now slaves of the Mastery."


End file.
